7 Best Travel Credit Cards Of 2018 - Earn Big Miles And Points

While paying an annual fee offers lucrative rewards, if you don’t want a fee, see our ranking of no annual fee travel credit cards. Want the best cards based on your spending, Our calculator will rank cards based on what spending categories you use the most. Want as many miles as possible,
Applying for the biggest intro deals will get you there fastest, especially if you’re willing to hold more than one card. Our bonus offers page details the biggest deals and is filled with tips. If you’re confused or have a question, ask us by adding a comment at the bottom of the page, or use our Contact form and we’ll get back to you with personal help.
4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. What’s great: Great flexibility with how you can use your points, plus great travel insurance benefits. 3 ways to book travel. Ask an expert who blogs about using miles and points what the best travel credit cards are, and the Sapphire Preferred will be on the shortlist thanks to its great flexibility. Transfer points to travel partners.
This is the most exciting and lucrative part of the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You can transfer points directly into real airline miles or hotel points with over 10 travel partners, including United MileagePlus and Southwest Rapid Rewards. If you want to fly in first or business class, an option like this is a must have. If you just want regular domestic flights, there’s great value here too, thanks to Southwest and United.
Book via the Chase website. If you don’t want to deal with the rules of airline mile programs, you can use your points like cash to buy tickets on the Chase website anytime. 125 in flight value, and you don’t have to worry about special mileage flights. Any flight is fair game.
Get cash back. If you decide you don’t want to travel, you can redeem your points for cash back anytime. 5,000 for trips you need to cancel if you’re seriously ill (or have another covered reason). And you don’t need absolutely perfect credit to qualify for the card. 0 introductory fee the first year.
So if you never want to think about an annual fee, this card isn’t for you. If you’re thinking of trying more than one card, consider this one early. There are reports Chase tends not to approve people who have opened 5 or more new cards in the last 2 years.
3,000 or more on travel and dining expenses a year, the Sapphire Reserve can make more sense, because it earns 3x points on travel and dining, better than the 2x points on the Sapphire Preferred. 300 annual credit for travel purchases you make on the card. Capital One Venture or Barclaycard Arrival Plus: If you don’t care about real airline miles at all, these cards have a good intro bonus and offer 2x points on everything you buy.
What’s great: Starwood hotel awards cost much less in points than many other hotel programs. Starwood points are really valuable for free hotel nights, with most hotels available for 15,000 points or less per night. Compare that to Marriott and Hilton who often charge twice as much or more for similar hotels with points. This card earns a basic one point per dollar on most purchases, but that’s okay since Starwood charges so much less for rooms with points. Starwood hotels include Westin, Sheraton, W, Le Meridien, St. Regis, Four Points, Aloft, and Element.
